


her first friend

by V_e_s_a_n_u_s



Series: Whumptober 2018 [13]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Blood and Injury, Fluff, Healing, Injury, Injury Recovery, Magic, Short & Sweet, Whumptober
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-13
Updated: 2018-10-13
Packaged: 2019-08-01 17:47:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16289039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/V_e_s_a_n_u_s/pseuds/V_e_s_a_n_u_s
Summary: Day number 13 of #whumptober! Prompt was "Stay."!The Warden Kallian is injured during a fight. Morrigan stays to patch the elf up as best as she can.





	her first friend

“I’m sorry, I-ah! Ow, I don’t know what happened,” Kallian said, readjusting her posture to get more comfortable on the uneven rug beneath her. 

“‘Tis not a case of not knowing what happened, but rather when to attack, and when to defend,” came the disinterested reply, as Morrigan let go of the elf’s arm and surrounded herself with various herbs and bandages. 

“You don’t hold back, do you?” Kallian laughed almost nervously. When Morrigan had offered to help her with her arm, she’d rather expected her to have  _ somewhat  _ of a bedside manner. As usual, however, it turned out that Morrigan was just going to be as she always was. That wasn’t really a surprise, if the warrior was honest with herself, and she wasn’t disappointed: she liked the witch just the way she was. 

“No,” the calculating golden eyes narrowed as she examined the elf’s arm again. The dark skin was bruised badly, purple spreading beneath the thin skin for most of her forearm, at the base of it was a nasty compound fracture. Part of her bone was sticking its ragged edges out from her skin, and Kallian could barely stand to look at it. So she didn’t. “I will have to reset this, you realise. It  _ will _ hurt. I can ease the pain, if you’d like?” 

“Please.” 

The mage passed a strange looking liquid and summoned a cold to her fingertips, numbing her arm with uncertain fingers. Certain in her magic, of course, (she trusted Flemeth in that regard, anyhow), but uncertain in the success she’d have with this, “I did offer to help, Kallian, but you  _ are  _ aware that healing is not my expertise?”   
“I don’t exactly have you along for your -  _ ow  _ \- bedside manner, you know. Do you mind?” She grumbled as Morrigan started prodding her arm peculiarly to test how sensitive it was. 

“Be quiet,” she replied without malice, “Is it starting to feel numb yet?”

Kallian paused, thinking for a moment, until the pain wasn’t shooting up her arm and she looked up in surprise, “Oh, yes- aAHH!”

The moment the elf had affirmed she was numb, Morrigan tugged on her arm, pulling the bone back into place with an audible crunch. The witch raised her eyebrow, “Why did you scream? You said it was numb.”

Kallian was panting in agony, heart beating fast and her arm  _ throbbing.  _ “EVIDENTLY NOT!” She yelled at the top of her lungs, falling back against the rug beneath her, arm still raised, to try and get her head around the pain.  _ Calm yourself, everything’s okay,  _ she thought, but each of her nerve endings were screeching out telling her that everything was  _ not _ okay. Fresh blood had started pouring from the wound from where Morrigan had removed the cloth they’d shoved against them to stop the bleeding before they got back to camp. 

She was working quickly now, packing herbs and cloth close to the ruptured skin, fingertips icy again, trying to encourage the capillaries to shrink away from the cold and stem the flow of blood, if only for a moment. Morrigan’s hands worked like lightning to fully wrap the bandage around her arm and around a long stick she found to keep the bone straightened against. If everything worked out, it would help the bone set straight in the meantime, before they could see a real healer, unless she did such a good job that Kallian didn’t need one (but Morrigan doubted that very much). 

Kallian herself was lightheaded, eyes bleary with tears and teeth clenched together. Morrigan looked up at her and saw that the moment she finished her wrappings around her injury. The witch paused for a moment, she didn’t have many words to say that could help. Even if she did she wasn’t sure she’d give them. She didn’t want to get  _ too  _ close. She had just met the elf, after all. 

“Don’t use it. Keep it elevated and  _ stay out of the fights,” _ She said, before continuing tentatively, “How are you feeling?” 

Kallian’s brown eyes snapped to her in anger. Morrigan raised an eyebrow at that look. “Bad. By the Dread Wolf, Morrigan, let a woman  _ speak _ before you go and do something like that! It bloody hurt!”

“You said you were fine. ‘Tis not my fault you decided to lie and it backfired.”   
“I wasn’t- It-!” Kallian slammed her mouth shut, head falling back again, “I’m too tired to get into this right now.”

“I shall take my leave then,” Morrigan said, getting up from her knees and ducking so that she didn’t bash into the roof of the small tent. 

“No, please!” The elf whined softly, and Morrigan paused, half-way out of the tent. 

She looked back at Kallian, whose eyes were shut and her face blushed with embarrassment, “Please what?” She asked slowly, uncertain if she wanted to hear the answer. 

“Please, I…” the elf sighed softly, “Please, stay.” 

Morrigan froze. Kallian had already mentioned she didn’t keep the human around for her bedside manner and it was for good reason: she didn’t  _ have _ one. What use would it be her staying if only to distress her further? She wrung her hands together, a nervous action she hadn’t performed since she was a child. She was Morrigan, a Witch of the Wilds, she could do anything, and she did  _ not  _ get nervous. 

But she saw the look on the elf’s face. It was vulnerable, afraid and in pain. She just wanted someone to sit with her, even if it was in silence: Morrigan could see that now. She just wanted someone to be there. She just wanted  _ someone. _

“I will stay,” Morrigan said slowly, taking a step further in, and coming to sit next to Kallian’s form. She saw the warrior’s features relax considerably. A small part of her mind told Morrigan she was Kallian’s  _ friend.  _ She ignored it. It was too much, too soon, “For now.”

Kallian’s eyelids creaked open a little, her dark eyes fixed on Morrigan’s golden ones,  _ “Thank you.” _

And so the witch stayed. 

She stayed until Kallian’s breathing became more relaxed, until her eyelids stopped fluttering and until the tension in her features melted away. When she was certain the elf was asleep, she stood to leave. In that moment, though, she felt something she did not expect. She didn’t want to go. She wanted to stay. With Kallian. Why? Because… because...

Because Kallian was her friend. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope y'all liked it! Let me know if you did! XD


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